Starting off the Spring anime season strong was the premiere of the highly anticipated adaptation of SPY x FAMILY. But SPY x FAMILY stood out as being a co-production between two specific anime studios: WIT STUDIO and CloverWorks. While the anime industry has an incredibly long history of these sorts of co-productions — with other studios actively helping produce other anime during the season — SPY x FAMILY from the onset showed the cohesion between two modern studios.
Crunchyroll News had an opportunity to sit down with two WIT STUDIO animation producers at Anime Expo 2022 to speak with them about what they learned during the production of the first cour, their favorite Anya faces and much more!
Could you please introduce yourselves to our readers and tell them what you do?
Hayashi: I’m Kazue Hayashi. I’m an animation producer at the WIT Studio for SPY x FAMILY and I work with Yamanaka-san.
Yamanaka: I’m Kazuki Yamanaka. I’m also an animation producer. Normally there is only one animation producer for a title, but in the case of SPY x FAMILY, there are three animation producers, two from WIT STUDIO and one from CloverWorks. Both of us split the work amongst the other animation producers.
Could you talk about what your role was as an animation producer on SPY x FAMILY?
Hayashi: Both of us are supervising the whole production but I’m focusing on the pre-production and development of the storyline and the setting.
Yamanaka: I’m focusing on main production, the actual production of animation, but both of us understand all production processes. Our focuses are different though.
SPY x FAMILY is a co-production between WIT STUDIO and CloverWorks. Could you describe what that relationship was like between the two studios working together?
Yamanaka: In general, we share the production based on episodes. The odd-numbered episodes are taken care of by WIT STUDIO, while the even-numbered episodes were CloverWorks. That is the basic structure. But of course, some of the processes, like backgrounds and the cinematography, that was a joint effort.
You mentioned working on the odd-numbered episodes, so I wanted to ask about episode five, which is about Anya’s castle. Some of the best scenes were extra and added ones, like Loid avoiding the early obstacles. How was it decided where the staff could create their own scenes like that within SPY x FAMILY?
Hayashi: At the beginning, we wanted to create the full episode with some original scenes to celebrate Anya passing the exam. Based on that concept and in the process of the scenario discussion, many ideas were submitted and discussed. From that point of view, we wanted to show Lloyd as a big cool spy. Of course, we took advantage of the animation aspect with this. After that consideration, we selected to integrate those scenes.
I really liked the cut where the one henchmen who [slaps his face] and goes “let’s go!”
Yamanaka: That scene was actually created by Keisuke Okura at WIT STUDIO, specifically. [laughs]
My next question is specifically about Anya’s faces, as they are a big highlight of the show. Was there one particular face you found the staff enjoying the most or liking the most?
Yamanaka: I like Anya’s faces in the zoomed-out shots. In those scenes, Anya’s eyes are described as just being “dots.” That description is not very detailed, but in the original work, many of Anya’s faces are described as being that. Sometimes I instructed the animators to not add too many lines or dots so we could keep it simple.
Hayashi: I like many of her faces, but I especially like Anya’s face when she apologizes to Damien, and she’s crying. Although Anya can have some “evil” faces, she has a very cute crying face. [laughs]
Anime produced by two studios has a very long history, but do you see productions like this in the future being more two studio operations?
Yamanaka: I think the kind of combination between two studios will continue as one of the basic production ways. It's dependent on a relationship among the animation producers at each studio. People can watch the end credits and see many studios that support any title, so there are many good relationships between many studios. So yes, that can happen more in the future, too. With SPY x FAMILY, WIT STUDIO and CloverWorks are the main two, but there are other studios like MADHOUSE that supported the production as well. That kind of collaboration will continue.
What did you learn the most from having a collaborative relationship in the production with CloverWorks?
Yamanaka: There are many learnings, so it’s hard to point out one. The basic steps of the production are the same, but the details and the way to proceed were different depending on the studio. What the staff pays attention to is also different between WIT STUDIO and CloverWorks.
Is there any particular episode or scene that you're most proud of that the staff made?
Hayashi: We’re proud of all the episodes, but particularly episodes five and ten. Even though the kids were just playing dodgeball, we could make some really great animation within it. From the visuals and direction, the staff was really committed put a lot of resources into the production.
Yamanaka: Even at WIT STUDIO, episodes five and ten were the ones we hoped to attract viewers with special action scenes and high-quality animation. Based on that, we set up a really great team. The fans already know the story [from the manga], so they have high expectations. The reaction was so good though, that it was good to see.
Could you please tell me how you in the staff adjusted to working with the spread of COVID-19? How did you stay safe and how did the production go during that time?
Yamanaka: We utilized the remote work and meeting systems. For example, at the earliest stages the scenario development meetings were all remote. We gave machines to the animators too to bring into their homes so they can produce the animation at home, as well.
Do you have any additional messages that you would like to share with international fans of SPY x FAMILY?
Hayashi: First of all, thanks to all the fans who watched the first cour. Now, the staff is really involved in the production of the next cour. So please look forward to it!
Yamanaka: All I can do is go beyond the fans’ expectations, so please look forward to everything coming up in the next cour!
Kyle Cardine is a Managing Editor for Crunchyroll. You can find his Twitter here.
Source: Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!
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